Sibel Edmonds is the most gagged person in US history. The government has repeatedly invoked the State Secrets Privilege in her case - not for reasons of 'national security' but to hide ongoing criminal activity. Please call Waxman and Conyers' offices and demand public open hearings into Edmonds' case and the State Secrets Privilege. Links to their contact pages on the right of the blog.

Former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds stumbled into a world of espionage, nuclear black market, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and corruption at the highest levels of the US government.

I interviewed Sibel yesterday regarding the current investigation and reporting by the Times, the failures of the US media, and last week's decision by the Bush administration to legalize the sale of nuclear technology to Turkey, in an apparent effort to exonerate prior criminal activity by officials in his administration.

Sibel also has some urgent 'action items' so that we can stop these dangerous nuclear proliferation activities. I urge you to act on her suggestions.

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Luke Ryland: What do you have to say about the recent work by the Insight journalists - Chris Gourlay, Jonathan Calvert, Joe Lauria - at the UK's Times?

Sibel Edmonds: They've done good, solid reporting so far by doing what reporters are supposed to. They have been chasing sources and getting their hands on documents. It's pretty simple. As you know, this story has been available to any journalist for six years now.

There's been a lot of speculation in the last few weeks that American reporters haven't touched this story because they are 'corporate owned' but it is wrong to exonerate these reporters so quickly. Many of them are too close to their official sources, and some are simply lazy. This Times team chases sources, and if they can't reach them one way, they'll try and try again, or they'll seek out alternate sources, or find other ways to ensure that they get the story.

When I hear from US reporters, they say 'Sibel, give us all the documents we'll need, and you line up all the sources for us, and then maybe we'll do a story' and if one source doesn't return their phone call, they simply give up. That's not journalism!

Luke Ryland: Why has the US failed on this story so dramatically for 6 years?

Sibel Edmonds: It's a combination of things, obviously. You need to consider that the entire US press corps has failed on this story; not only the regular print and TV media, but the alternative media has failed on this too.

Part of the reason is that journalists are simply too close to their official sources. Those sources might tell the journalist that there's nothing to the story, and so the journalist gives up on it, or the official sources might 'request' that the journalist to stay away from the story, and the journalist is then concerned about losing access to the source in the future.

Another reason is the partisanship. With the foreign press, there is no partisanship, and that's one reason why they have been more effective at covering this case, and I'm not just talking about the recent Times articles here. With the US media, it appears as though if there is no clear partisan angle, then there's no story. As you know, this case is spread over two administrations, and that appears to make it difficult for the reporters to cover the story. Even within one news organization you might have one journalist who wants to use the story to indict Clinton, and another who wants to use the story to bash Bush, and in the end neither of them write about the story because it doesn't fit their partisanship, their 'narrative', so they just drop it altogether.

I had such high hopes for the alternative press, and they do a lot of good work, but partisanship repeatedly gets in the way there too, on both sides.

The US media also suffers from a pack mentality. I was told by one executive that they weren't doing the story because it was 'old news' because 60 Minutes did a single segment in October 2002, even though they only covered a tiny part of the case. This executive literally told me that he'd only cover the story if it was 'hot and sexy.' I often think that I'd need to be able to hire Britney Spears to be a spokesperson - and this is not just for my case, but for any of the many other solid, important cases at the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition. Apparently this is what it would take to get any coverage.

Of course, given the pack mentality, if any of these stories does become 'hot and sexy' then all the journalists focus on the same issues and there's no differentiation in their reporting.

The other major problem in the US is the focus on symptoms, rather than root causes. My case is a good example, but there are lots of others too. Look at the early reporting on my case in 2002, the Washington Post broke the story in July 2002 about the espionage in the translation bureau and then they dropped the story after two weeks. They stopped reporting on it when more important information came out and the State Secrets Privilege was invoked. To this day not a single US reporter has asked 'Why was the State Secrets Privilege been invoked here? What is going on?'

Just this week I was approached by a major US outlet who wanted to do a story on Kevin Taskesen! [Ed note: Taskesen was an incompetent FBI translator who got his job because his wife worked in the administrative office] This is absolutely the most trivial element of the case, and it has already been reported at length. I told them that they could learn everything they needed to know by watching 60 Minutes, 2002. Again, the US media needs to start looking at the root causes of these problems, not the symptoms.

Luke Ryland: Will the US media start reporting on this now that it is 'hot and sexy' again?

Sibel Edmonds: It's hard to know. After being told for years that they won't cover it because it is 'old news,' now there are certain officials in the agencies quietly telling journalists to stay away from the story because I came across a highly sensitive covert national security operation.

Also, Turkey's army of lobbyists in DC are very effective. The US press tends to stay away from any stories critical of Turkey, I would say even more than Israel.

There's also the possible problem of 'eating crow' but I hope this isn't an issue, this story is way too important for any of that. The information that has been published in the Times recently could have easily come out four years ago in the US press. We now need everyone to focus on the important issues.

I have one message for the US media: If they think this is over, it's not over. Much more will come out. They won't be able to ignore it any longer, and so I hope they get over any reluctance they might have.

Look at the positive press that the Times' series has received since their first article ran. Do you think their editors haven't noticed? The Times is adding more and more resources to the story, more journalists, bigger budgets, and more importantly, they are getting more and more sources coming forward to shed light on these illegal activities. As I have said from the beginning, this story is not about me, there are many sources who have been waiting for the right time to come forward, I've probably never even heard of most of them, and now they are coming forward. This will play out like Watergate played out, with the drip, drip, drip. So I say to everyone 'Buckle up, there's much more coming.'

So, hopefully American reporters will start to cover the story. I'm not particularly confident, but to a certain degree it doesn't matter that much because the internet and the blogs can spread the reporting from the UK as soon as it hits the wires.

Luke Ryland: Two weeks after the first article in the Times about the involvement of high-level US officials being involved with Turkish and Israeli interests in supplying the nuclear black market, President Bush quietly announced that the US will start supplying nuclear technology to Turkey. Do you think that is a coincidence?

Sibel Edmonds: The timing is certainly very, very suspicious. The proposals that are being floated are very suspicious too. There are reports that Turkey will build an enrichment facility, and that Turkey will become the key supplier of nuclear fuel to other Muslim countries who want nuclear power plants. None of this makes any sense.

And again, the US media is nowhere to be seen on this issue. Where are the journalists? Do you remember the noise made a couple of years ago when the US announced that it would supply India with nuclear technology? So far, nearly a week after the announcement and not a single major US media outlet has even reported on the deal! Think of the hypocrisy, with all the saber-rattling at Iran over enrichment.

If it's such a good idea to sell nuclear technology to Turkey, why isn't the White House out there selling the idea? Where are the arguments in the press saying that this will be good for regional stability, or that it will help reduce demand for oil, or even that it is simply good business because US firms will be able to sell their hardware and knowledge? There's nothing! Silence. What does that tell you?

Luke Ryland: What needs to be done?

Sibel Edmonds: The way they've structured this deal is that Congress has 90 days from the announcement, now 84 days, to block the 'agreement' otherwise it basically becomes law.

The first thing that we need to do is to make sure that this doesn't 'automatically' become law. We need the journalists, the experts, and the bloggers to raise hell over this issue, and we need to make sure that Congress investigates this properly before rubber-stamping it. The clock is ticking and we need to act now.

As you know, and this was even published in the White House press release on this issue, certain 'Turkish private entities' have been involved 'in certain activities directly relating to nuclear proliferation.' This includes supplying the A.Q. Khan network - which built Pakistan's nuclear bomb, and also supplied North Korea, Iran and other countries - but as the recent Times stories indicate, so much more as well.

The White House press release states that all these issues have been resolved; that the Turkish government has addressed these issues, that the US government has evaluated these actions and that the US government is satisfied, and that all of this is secret, classified!

Given the track record of this administration in abusing classification and distorting intelligence, why on earth would we trust them with this? What is in the report? Is it truthful? Why is it classified? We saw these exact same people do the same thing in the late 80s when they enabled Pakistan to get nuclear weapons. Richard Barlow did his best to stop them then, but if Congress doesn't hold hearings this time around the same thing will happen again. We should have stopped Pakistan then, but unless this 'classified' report is made public and the contents publicly debated, then the Barlow of today won't even get the chance to debunk whatever is in that 'classified' report. What conceivable logic is there in classifying the details of how Turkey has cleaned up its act regarding nuclear proliferation? If they have, they should be proud of it!

There are many great anti-proliferation organizations out there, we need to rally all of them, and all of the 'pro-transparency' organizations, to this cause. We need journalists to contact these experts for their opinion and expertise, and we need these experts to contact journalists to ensure that the story, and the issues, is covered, and covered thoroughly.

We also need to recruit bloggers and alternative media to keep the pressure on. Perhaps a 'countdown clock' as we count down the 90 days might help.

Luke Ryland: What are the next steps in the process?

Sibel Edmonds: I'm not exactly sure of the process at the moment, but it has been reported that this 'automatically' becomes law after the 90 days, somehow, unless Congress blocks or amends the legislation.

(Ed note: Senate Foreign Relations Committee includes Joe Biden (Chair), Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Russ Feingold, Barbara Boxer, Barack Obama and Jim Webb for the Democrats, and Richard Lugar, Chuck Hagel and George Voinovich for the minority. Hopefully one of them will stand up on this important issue. The House side looks more difficult, the Chairman is Tom Lantos who was listed in Sibel's Rogue's Gallery, which apparently identifies 18 of the guilty parties in her case, so that might be a problem. Ron Paul is also on that committee, he might be a prime target for this campaign.)

Luke Ryland: Is there anything else we can do?

Sibel Edmonds: There is one other hope. As last week's White House press release states, Bill Clinton tried to pass this legislation in 2000 but "immediately after" Clinton tried to send it to Congress it was blocked because some people apparently highlighted Turkish involvement in the nuclear black market and, who knows, maybe threatened to blow the whistle. Those same individuals, and others like them, can stop this again, and they should do everything they can to make sure that this doesn't happen. They should try to do it internally, and if they can't do it internally, then they need reach out to journalists, either on or off the record. Hopefully some honest, dedicated people will try to block it again, but we can't rely on that. We need to pressure congress to ensure that this doesn't go through.

Time is running out, the countdown clock is ticking down, and we need to stop this now. We need the help of journalists, congress, nuclear proliferation experts, bloggers and those active citizens in the blogosphere and elsewhere.

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Many thanks to Sibel, as always.

Please do what you can to help block this proposed legislation.

If you can create a 'countdown clock' please contact me, and we'll offer it so that everyone can place it on their blogs and use it in their sigs etc.

To reiterate Sibel's emphasis on the importance of the internet to help get the story out, Daily Kos statistics for the week Jan 19-25 have been released. During a primary week when many were (rightly) complaining that campaign diaries made it almost impossible for other issues to get any attention, diaries related to Sibel's case dominated the list. Sibel's story was both #1 and $2 for the week, and filled 3 of the top 11, and 4 of the top 25 diaries. Statistics at Democratic Underground will demonstrate the same level of interest in the case. Thank you to all of you, and I ask that you continue to support the case, and I ask that journalists and bloggers pick up the story and support the great work done by the Times. It's about time, no?

It struck me how Britney even shows up in pertinent articles and commentary; usually in discussing the lack of proper media coverage. I was thinking that someone should join forces with her and have her say things like: "Google Sibel Edmonds" or "Pat Tillman was murdered because he turned against the war." You know, have her be a news outlet!

"U.S. Diplomat Keith Ryan found dead in Islamabad Pakistan"Does Sibel have a take on the REAL story here?

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=12581

"The police had earlier declared it suicide. The pathologists at the PIMS hospital confirmed that Ryan sustained bullet injury on the rear upper neck. The medico-legal experts, however, said he was murdered."

Yes, we did indeed see "these exact same people do the same thing in the late 80s when they enabled Pakistan to get nuclear weapons." But who are "they"? And how did the very detailed New Yorker article fail to mention the role of the spooks' favorite bank BCCI?

To summarize the above link, "The Last Circle" describes how the CIA, in conjunction with former FBI and military officers, and the spy agencies of other countries, including the Mossad, operates outside the US government trading guns, drugs, and military secrets for their own personal profit and political agendas. Sibel Edmonds describes the same type of complex operation taking place years later, and names people connected to the first Bush administration, during which many of these crimes took place.

Suggested reading to make sense of Sibel Edmonds' revelations, in order of relevance:

I guess I wonder how Sibel will not experience retaliation against her by U.S. government operatives because of the help she must have given to UK Sunday Times journalists.

I read her reasons why U.S. reporters/journalists have not covered her story and they do not wash with me. If you want to look at root causes, not symptoms, of what motivates US journalists to not do certain stories, you must first think of the prime motivators. They will lose their job and their career and will be blackballed from their career the rest of their lives. Think Gary Webb. They will be threatened and or their family members will be threatened with bodily harm. Think Gary Webb. There homes and offices will be mysteriously broken in to. Think Gary Webb. They will be murdered and it will be called suicide. Think Gary Webb.Those are the "root causes" of why we no longer have mainstream media real journalism in the USA.

The fact that Sibel Edmonds herself is, in fact, "hot and sexy" and the US media STILL refuses to cover her story is strong evidence that there is, in fact, some sort of blacklisting going on. I'm not trying to be sexist here - just telling the truth.

To "Anonymous" - If it's "delusional" then press the U.S. government to reveal the evidence and address her claims. If it truly is "delusional" they should have nothing to worry about... right?...... right??!

I think you're the delusional one. She is on the front line pushing her story and risking her life while you sit behind your keyboard and try to defame her character using the nickname, "Anonymous". What a joke you are.

How dare anyone would insinuate that the US news media would abstain or refrain from publishing anything that may have inferred that Israel was involved in such a conspiracy. Israel is our special friend and that means we should never denigrate it.

I sincerely hope Sibel Edmonds survives long enough to expose all she knows to the world. Too many people with something to say we should all know about have really unfortunate "accidents." Seems like the only safe place to hide these days is on the Afghan- Pakistani border!

People would be more willing and less fearful of adopting the views of 911 Truth activists if they felt they were calling for forgiveness rather than retribution and punishment.

The peace movement should call for granting amnesty from prosecution and guarantee of an ample, lifetime pension to anyone who agrees to testify on their roles in the events of 9/11, extending this offer to any members of the US government, foreign governments and/or terrorist groups involved in the planning or execution of the attacks of that day.

Additionally, individuals should step forward and volunteer to spend time working with those who give testimony on crimes they have committed so that they might be reintegrated into society.

Instead of executing Nazi war criminals we should have devoted all the human resources available to us to rehabilitating them, awakening in them awareness of the nature of their actions so that they could have come to understand that they must make amends. If they had remained alive they would have been a living testament to the transformative powers of forgiveness.

Historians and psychologists especially should come out in favor of preserving invaluable study material in the form of the opportunity to converse with the authors of unfortunate historical deeds.

A declaration of willingness to forgive would force the government's hand. If it were to arrest or make attempts to discredit someone calling for 911 truth plus forgiveness, that would be a tacit acknowledgement by the government of its complicity in the 9/11 attacks. Imagine the impact of footage on YouTube of police arresting demonstrators carrying signs reading: "I forgive you George Bush for 9/11." Perhaps even the passively complicit mainstream media could be convinced to show someone carrying a sign calling for amnesty for the perpetrators of 9/11.

If we consider ourselves morally superior to the government, we should propose actions and attitudes that are more humanitarian with respect to them than their actions have been with respect to us.

I strongly suspect that the white apartheid government in South Africa did not agree to fair elections until assured that they would not be executed or imprisoned by the black majority government when it came to power.

In "The Art of War", Sun Tzu said never to surround an enemy. If you do not leave him an out, he will fight to the last man

Finally, these ideas do not depend on the media for their dissemination. If you can convince six friends of the merit of these ideas and get them to tell six of their own friends tomorrow, each of whom tells six of their friends the next day, and so on, then the ideas will reach every person in the world in two weeks by word of mouth alone (do the math).

(to see an interesting discussion of these ideas, please see http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_joseph_s_070414_a_9_2f11__22smoking_gun_22.htm)

Hey Anonymous Dude, 3:07pm, who "said... Simply delusional, unfounded allegations from Edmonds. Ever wonder who she 'really' works for?" Dude, she ain't delusional--I resent that. And no, I DON'T WONDER who she works for--she works for me, for minimum wage even. We are doing research on how memes ("ideas" to the likes of the uninitiated, e.g., you) spread on hierarchically-noded, high-speed digitalis networks, like the internet. It's going to be my Ph.D. thesis. I am sure clueless people like you would call it a Bf.D. thesis. And Sibel will get her Ph.D. too, while you turn green with jealousy. So slink back to your hole.

Sibel you are a true hero, courageous and persistent. I just read your "Hijacking of a Nation, Part II". It is one of the most depressing things I have read in a long time. Like staring into a pit of darkness...what our country has become.

This is a link to an article that appeared on Truthout.org this week, entitled "NYT's Reporter Claims Rove Influenced 9/11 Commission Report"By Max HollandWashington Decoded:http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/013108N.shtml

Not that we should be surprised, but simply more evidence of involvement of Bush and his cronies in every aspect of making sure that the truth of all the events of 9/11 never see the light of day, and undoubtedly why Sibel's testimony was quite specifically *not* included in the report...